BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Acquires New Position in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,458 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,359,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Herc by 4.1% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,019 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Herc by 49.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,058 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,299,000 after acquiring an additional 17,236 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Herc by 117.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 116,512 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,739,000 after acquiring an additional 62,883 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Herc by 13.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 103,724 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,537,000 after acquiring an additional 11,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 102,440 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,474,000 after purchasing an additional 2,611 shares during the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Herc Trading Down 5.1 %

NYSE:HRI opened at $111.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $137.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.29 and a 12-month high of $246.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.93.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.40). The company had revenue of $934.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $919.84 million. Herc had a return on equity of 26.48% and a net margin of 5.91%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Herc’s payout ratio is 37.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on HRI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Herc from $234.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Herc from $165.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Herc from $225.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.20.

Herc Profile

Herc Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an equipment rental supplier. It rents aerial, earthmoving, material handling, trucks and trailers, air compressors, compaction, and lighting equipment, as well as generators, and safety supplies and expendables; and provides ProSolutions, an industry specific solution based services, such as pumping solutions, power generation, climate control, remediation and restoration, and studio and production equipment.